Programs

Maximizing Impact: Organized Diffusion

Community Empowerment Program (CEP) participants help to spread knowledge of human rights to all interconnected groups and their social networks.

Tostan uses a process called “organized diffusion” to help spread information through connected communities, or social networks. CEP participants share their knowledge of human rights and responsibilities learned in class sessions to all interconnected groups and their social networks. This social mobilization process increases the impact of our programs, spreading new ideas organically from person to person and community to community.

Tostan estimates this strategy allows our work to impact roughly ten individuals for every one direct participant in our program. Since 1991, more than 200,000 people have directly participated in our program, spreading the indirect reach to over two million people.

To learn more about how Tostan leverages its efforts through organized diffusion, read more on the Tostan International website here.